Japan’s Furukawa Battery Company, which has specialized in battery manufacturing for 100 years, is reported to have acquired a 10.54 per cent stake in the Dry Cell and Storage Battery Company (PAC).

The stake represents 4.9 million shares and were purchased on September 28. At a price of VND40,000 ($1.79) per share, the Japanese company outlaid VND196 billion ($8.78 million) for the acquisition.

On September 28, PAC’s shares were trading at around VND38,000 ($1.70) to VND39,600 ($1.78), or less than the negotiated sale price. It remains unknown who sold the PAC stakes to Furukawa Battery.

This is not the first time the two companies have worked together. In 2010 the Japanese company provided technical support to PAC in producing PRLA batteries for motorbikes.

On September 5 another foreign company, the Sarus Indochina Select Company, purchased 2,334,238 PAC, or 5.02 per cent. On September 21 Sarus acquired a further 460,729 shares, bringing its ownership to 6.01 per cent.

Furukawa was founded in 1914 and is one of the largest battery companies in Japan. In the first half of this year it reported revenue of $111.06 million, down 4.9 per cent year-on-year, with after-tax profit of $109.13 million, down 72.3 per cent year-on-year. Its charter capital currently stands at $15.45 million.

It manufactures lead-acid batteries for motor vehicles, motorcycles, trams, trains, and aircraft, and batteries for mobile phones and solar panels. It also produces power supply systems for communications, emergency lighting, and disaster prevention instruments, etc.

The company has been listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange since 1961. In 2003 it successfully developed the first batteries for space applications in the world. In 2008 it began producing wind-integrated battery systems that allow an electric vehicle using an Ultra Battery to run for 100,000 miles.

PAC was established in April 1976 with charter capital of nearly VND310 billion ($13.9 million). Its biggest shareholder is the Vietnam Chemical Group, with 51.4 per cent.

PAC’s shares reached a peak of VND49,600 ($2.22) on July 8 but have fallen since and were trading at VND38,000 ($1.78) on October 6.